A 14-year-old James Township boy got a tough lesson about why you shouldn’t play with fire.
Saginaw County Sheriff’s deputies questioned, cuffed, and put him in a squad car after their investigation found he and another boy set a fire that damaged his home and shed.
“My 14 year old was playing, and this is what happened,” said his mother, pointing to a damaged shed and home.
Investigators say the boys were lighting grass on fire just to watch it burn. Then in an effort to hide what they had done, they stuffed the charred grass in a bucket. They placed the bucket next to the home.
“The grass was still smoldering, and that caused the fire to start all over again,” said Saginaw County Sheriff Sgt. Mark Garabelli.
The family fortunately lives on Swan Creek Road across the street from the James Township Fire Department. Crews quickly knocked down the blaze. No one was injured.
The teen’s mom says other parents should learn from her disaster, and make sure their children take the dangers of playing with fire seriously.
“Keep an eye on your children,” she says. “If it weren’t for my neighbor I would have lost them because this house would have gone up.”
